Wireless devices which use a network may receive time and date data from the network, including for example, the current date, time, time zone, and/or daylight saving time settings. For example, mobile devices accessing the GSM network and/or the UMTS network can optionally receive time and date information from the network when a data connection is established. Mobile devices, or portable devices, may include cellular telephones, personal digital assistants or PDAs, smartphones, laptops, netbooks, tablet computers, etc. A typical third generation (“3G”) cellular telephone may access the UMTS network, and when a connection on the UMTS network is unavailable, the 3G cellular telephone may access the GSM network.
However, in various networks, there is no way for a mobile device to receive time and date information from the network. Further, if a device is camped on a limited service mode and a normal service connection cannot be established, time and date information cannot be received. For example, a 3G cellular telephone may be unable to access a normal service connection on the UMTS network or the GSM network, and may only be allowed to camp for emergency calls when a normal service connection cannot be established.
When a mobile device user travels with the device, the time and date information of the device may become incorrect based on the user's new location and/or the passage of time. For example, if a user moves from a location where time information is received from a network, to a location where time information cannot be received from the network, and where only limited service is available from another network, the user's mobile device will not receive time and date information. In this scenario, the user's device may have the incorrect time used with various applications on the device, such as the clock, calendar, email, etc. When a user's mobile device provides erroneous information, it can be confusing and problematic for the user.
The prior art methods of dealing with such problems include requiring the user to manually set the date and time when time and date information cannot be accessed via the network. For example, if time and date information are not received from a network for one minute after a device camps on a network, the user may be prompted to enter time, date, time zone, and/or daylight saving time settings manually. However, a user may simply not know the current time, date, time zone, and/or daylight saving time settings. Further, a user may mistakenly enter an incorrect time or date, for example, when the user has unknowingly moved to a different time zone or an area with different daylight saving time settings, or if the daylight saving time settings have changed. In this scenario, the user may believe they know the current time based on for example, a wrist watch, however, the time on the wrist watch may be incorrect because the user is in a different time zone or area with different daylight saving time settings.
Entering the incorrect date or time can cause considerable chaos for the user. For example, typical problems may include the user being late to a meeting, missing a deadline, or including erroneous time or date information in emails or documents. Moreover, even if the user does enter the correct time and date information, it may still be burdensome for the user to determine the correct time and date information and manually enter that information into the device. The prior art fails to provide a sufficient solution for the above described challenges.